Tampa, Fla. – The University of South Florida beach volleyball team is gearing up for an exciting weekend of competitions as they head to Manhattan Beach for the AVCA Beach Pairs West Qualifier in California, one of the most anticipated tournaments of the fall season.

This weekend, South Florida competes in its second tournament of the season, facing notable teams from around the region. The event runs from Oct. 18 to Oct. 20 and will feature four Bulls pairs. Audrey Gauthier and Samantha Crosby, Aleksandra Stadnik and Isabella Almeida, and Sasha Pasloski and Morgan Anderson will battle in the Gold Bid Division for a spot in the 2024 AVCA Pairs National Championship, while Alyx Zapatka and Ryann Genest will compete in a regular match as they continue their strong play.

The tournament consists of three divisions, Gold, Silver, and Bronze, with the Gold Bid Division featuring a 32-pair tournament format over three days. The first day includes modified pool play with each pair playing two matches. On Saturday, all pairs enter a single-elimination bracket, competing for placements on Sunday. The bids to the 2024 AVCA Pairs National Championship will be awarded to the top three finishing eligible pairs. Matches will follow NCAA Division I rules and will be played best of three sets (21, 21, 15). 

Substitutions are not permitted, and pairs must compete together throughout the tournament.

The Silver and Bronze Divisions will also follow the best-of-three format under NCAA Division I rules, but they will not award bids to the national championship. In these divisions, teams can have substitutions during matches while still competing together throughout the tournament.

Tournament details below:
 
GOLD BID DIVISION

• 32 pair tournaments played over three days
• Three bids are awarded to the 2024 AVCA Pairs National Championship
• If a bid is not able to be accepted by the first, second or third place team, or the university has already met the maximum of two bids, the qualifying bids will trickle down to the next eligible pair(s)
• Seeding for pool play is based on TruVolley rankings, where two or more pairs are in the same pool from the same university the lowest ranking pair(s) will be dropped one place to ensure that pool play only has one pair (or the lowest amount) from each school
• Entry to the Bid Division will first accommodate at least one pair from each interested university before awarding additional entries

 
SILVER DIVISION

• No bids are awarded to the 2024 AVCA Pairs National Championship
• All games are played as matches, best of three sets (21, 21, 15) and NCAA DI rules apply
• Pairs in the Open Division may play together for the duration of the tournament, however substitutions are permitted per match (not during)
• Match results will be entered into TruVolley rankings

 
BRONZE DIVISION

• No bids are awarded to the 2024 AVCA Pairs National Championship
• All games are played as matches, best of three sets (21, 21, 15) and NCAA DI rules apply
• Pairs in the Open Division may play together for the duration of the tournament, however substitutions are permitted per match (not during)
• Match results will be entered into TruVolley rankings

*After first day of pool play, teams will advance into power pools.